Occasionally, the parade of modern life delivers a trend so exquisitely illogical that it settles squarely into the “didn’t see that coming” category. Enter: Men shaving off their eyelashes. Yes, readers, you can file this one alongside fish pedicures and cheese tea. Both CNN and Men’s Journal have recently documented the phenomenon. And no, it isn’t avant-garde performance art or a misdirected dare—it’s a sincere bid for a “more masculine” look.

Blades, Brows, and Binary Lines

What prompts otherwise sensible-seeming individuals to take clippers and scissors to one of the body’s most convenient built-in safety mechanisms? According to CNN, the trend has surfaced in TikTok feeds and Instagram reels, with barbers in places as far-flung as Turkey and New Zealand wielding tools with alarming proximity to their clients’ eyeballs. The results are “stubby lashes”—not quite bare, but certainly a far cry from mascara advertisement material. Reactions online skew toward alarm, as Men’s Journal recounts how TikTok users have described the trend with the kind of horror usually reserved for botched at-home haircuts. Some urge, “DO NOT DO THIS. LIKE EVER,” while another exclaims, “Why just why. This is naturally your eye protector.” The overwhelming sense is that this is an eyebrow (or eyelash) raising moment for internet onlookers.

But the movement isn’t only about aesthetics. As documented by CNN, lush lashes have long been visually linked to femininity in art, literature, and even reproductive science—historically associated with higher estrogen and perceived fertility. In a political and social climate where conversations about “masculine energy” are resurgent, some men are keen to erase even the faintest whisper of the feminine from their faces. The idea of masculinity itself has become entangled in everything from eyelash length to the political chatter of podcast interviews, as figures like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg publicly praise “aggression” and even U.S. Vice President JD Vance finds internet sleuths debating whether his lashes are real.

As Men’s Journal references, the American Academy of Ophthalmology explains that eyelashes do more than frame the eyes—they serve as dust catchers, insect alarms, and guardians of our delicate corneas. Dr. Ivan Schwab adds that healthy lashes are “unique among body hair,” rarely go gray, and have a surprisingly long lifespan. One has to wonder: has the pursuit of masculinity officially entered a phase where basic bioengineering is on the table?

The Masculinity Tug-of-War

The groundswell extends beyond a niche internet trend. CNN points out that gender traditionalism, particularly in U.S. politics, is enjoying a comeback. Data from the post-2024 election Views of the Electorate Research Survey, run by The Democracy Fund foundation and YouGov, shows more than three quarters of Republican respondents agreeing that the recent changes in what it means to be a man “haven’t been good for society.” Comparatively, support for women’s “traditional roles” soared among Republican men from 28% in 2022 to 48% post-election. There’s a sense among some that any vestige of femininity—even, apparently, naturally dark eyelashes—must be subdued.

CNN shares the experience of Spencer Bailey, a London-based IT professional, who explained that his naturally thick lashes attract skepticism, mostly from other men. “Comments are usually from other men who say they’re ‘girly’ — despite the fact I’m also 6-foot-2,” he says, a sentiment that neatly encapsulates the awkward fixation at hand. Here, small body details become subject to much larger anxieties about identity and belonging.

What, then, happens when entire trends spring up to reinforce as stark a visual binary as possible? Meredith Jones, honorary professor of gender studies at Brunel University of London, told CNN that the more traditional or conservative a society tries to be, the more marked the differences between genders in appearance. If women’s lashes are destined for the heavens, men’s must apparently march in the opposite direction.

Blink (Carefully) and You’ll Miss It

There’s an extra irony in the fact that a bid to look unadorned or “rugged” can come at the literal expense of one’s eye health. Eyelashes are not disposable accessories; as both CNN and Men’s Journal relate, their absence (or mutilation) can lead to discomfort, increased risk of debris in the eye, and, in the words of consultant ophthalmic and oculoplastic surgeon Vickie Lee, cause irritation from sharp, stubby ends rubbing on the ocular surface. Cutting too close isn’t just a bad style choice—it’s flirting with actual harm.

Amid the parade of “masculine” grooming, there’s another small but telling countercurrent. CNN observes that while a “no mascara” trend among women is gaining a certain minimalist momentum, mascara remains the top eye makeup product in the U.S. According to Mintel analyst Clare Hennigan, the so-called “no mascara” movement is “gaining traction,” but widespread abandonment of long lashes among women is, so far, speculative at best. It’s a cyclical pattern: for every maximalist swing, there’s a minimalist reply.

Cycles, Whimsy, and the Twitch of an Eyelash

Trends are fickle things, as Jones reminds: the visual codes of masculinity and femininity are always in motion, reacting to broader cultural tides. History has seen the boundaries blur and snap back in cycles—bell-bottoms and long hair incited conservative panic in the ’60s, only for extravagance to swing back in the ’80s. Is eyelash shaving just a curious blip, destined for the digital archives alongside eyebrow slits and pencil moustaches? What will future anthropologists make of the era in which a generation collectively questioned the gender implications of their eyelid fringe?

For all the theorizing, perhaps there’s comfort in the constant: people, restless and inventive, will always find a new way to broadcast their identity—sometimes with scissors precariously near their eyeballs. Evolution gave us lashes for a reason; maybe the next cycle will remind us to value these tiny, practical whiskers—not as markers of masculinity or femininity, but simply as the body’s own, quietly reliable defenders.